On the 31 October a conference will take place that that will explore pathways to a greener, fairer, net-zero transition for neighbourhoods in East Birmingham. You can see the agenda for the day and book a place at the conference via Eventbrite by clicking here.
Parts of East Birmingham are amongst the most deprived communities in the UK. Both the impact of climate change and the consequences of measures to avoid that climate change becoming catastrophic are likely to have a significant impact on those communities. The danger of such an adverse impact is that addressing climate change will become increasingly divisive, putting at risk the potential to implement any meaningful programme.
The East Birmingham Community Heat Test and Learn project is creating solutions to address the challenges of retrofit and heat decarbonisation, by bringing together residents, policy makers and businesses, engaging them in the journey to net zero. Building community voices into the detail of the design and planning of decarbonisation is critical to making a just transition work. Understanding the competing priorities between local communities and others enables conflicts to be resolved and the creation of a shared vision for a future that benefits all.
The project has three core elements:
Creating an East Birmingham Community Learning Platform to offer a real time,
shared space for residents, community groups, businesses, industry, and
Government bodies to explore opportunities, share knowledge and define future
approaches and innovation.
Developing business and financing models for retrofit and energy systems which can
be tailored and used as a template for schemes across the UK.
Knowledge sharing to meet the widespread demand from policy makers,
homeowners and businesses for understandable, costed solutions for housing
retrofit and heat decarbonisation, establishing East Birmingham as a pioneer of
green energy and fuel poverty solutions.
Birmingham Energy Institute, University of Birmingham, is working in partnership with Places in Common and The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) to deliver this conference. The project has been kindly supported by the Cadent Foundation.